Dinner in Atlantis
by djenie
Summary: This is the 3rd in my series of stories that begins with Lunch at the Pentagon and continues in Picnic at the Zoo. Sam and Jack's relationship is getting complicated! Rated a strong T because I'm cautious (not til Chapter 3, I think). Set in Atlantis. Romance/Also some angst.
1. Chapter 1

**One last hurrah before I devote myself to my grandson, who arrived yesterday!**

**This is the next story in my series that includes Lunch at the Pentagon and Picnic at the Zoo. I just kind of jumped in where Zoo left off, so it won't make much sense if you haven't read that one at least.**

**Medical disclaimer once again! Do not take anything medical that I say seriously! I try but I know nothing!**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**DINNER IN ATLANTIS**

**~nearly seven weeks into Sam's stay in Atlantis**

It was 08.45 according to the infirmary clock. Dr. Jennifer Keller looked up at the knock on her open office door and smiled at her visitor. "Come in, Colonel Carter." Jennifer had gotten to know Carter fairly well in the weeks that the colonel had been in command of Atlantis. The doctor had quickly discovered that Carter was a workaholic, and was not inclined to socialize; however in order to get to know the people of her new command quickly, she had established a routine of spending several hours a week in the places where Atlantis' crew passed their downtime—recreation rooms, officers' lounge, etc. The two women had discovered they had things in common and formed a quick friendship, often eating meals together. The doctor was greatly impressed with the dedication Sam showed toward her new assignment.

Sam stepped into the room and shut the door behind her. "Do you have a minute, Jennifer?"

"Yes, of course. Sit down." Jennifer closed the laptop she'd been working on and set it aside. "How can I help you?"

Sam sat down in the chair across from the doctor. "I would like you to examine me."

"Are you feeling ill, Colonel?" Keller asked, instantly concerned.

"Oh, no. I feel fine."

"Then, why...?" she let the question hang.

Sam drew a breath before continuing. "I want to find out if I can... have a healthy pregnancy, and a healthy baby."

The statement was totally unexpected, and Keller was speechless for a moment. "Do you think you're pregnant, Sam?" she asked finally.

Carter could not hold back a grin. "Yes. I believe I am."

"I see." Jennifer responded with a smile of her own. "We can find out very quickly if you're correct."

Sam's expression sobered. "I need to know what the risks are, Jennifer. I need you to check everything."

Keller nodded. "I understand. But first let's confirm that you _are_ pregnant," she said calmly. "Do you have a few minutes?"

"I'm free for the next two hours."

"Then let's get started."

Keller rose and Sam followed suit.

Twenty minutes later, Jennifer drew a sheet over Sam's lower body, and pulled off the exam gloves she was wearing. "You are definitely pregnant, Sam."

Joy and apprehension warred on Sam's face. She'd been fairly certain, but knew there was a possibility she was mistaken until she had confirmation from the doctor. Now she was feeling the excitement of that confirmation, as well as the fears that had been lurking in the back of her mind since she first suspected her condition. So many things that might complicate this pregnancy...

"How far along?" she asked.

"I'd say seven weeks or so. I'll do an ultrasound to confirm that."

Sam bit her lip. "I need you to talk to me about the risks."

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to do the ultrasound first?"

"I need to know as much as I can," Sam said anxiously.

"All right," Jennifer said. "How old are you, Colonel?"

"I'm forty-one."

"Well, as I'm sure you know, there are some risks because of your age. Certain birth defects are more likely to occur. The risk of miscarriage in the first three months is also higher. But actually most of those happen in the first few weeks and would have already happened by now. So at this point the actual numbers are still low, despite the increase." Jennifer regarded Sam sympathetically. "I know what you're most worried about—the naquadah in your blood and the protein marker that Jolinar left."

"Yes."

"Unfortunately, those are the hardest to predict. We have no way to test the effects of naquadah on pregnancy, since no one has had it before. The marker appears to be harmless—merely a genetic flag—but again with no prior experience, I can't guarantee anything."

Sam nodded. "I understand that. But you can test to see if there's been any effect on me."

"Yes. And we can make sure that all of your systems are functioning normally, and that there's nothing structurally wrong. But are you sure you wouldn't rather return to the SGC for that? Dr. Lam is much more familiar with your history than I am..."

"No." Sam shook her head. "You have all my records—you can do all the tests. Plus you have the Atlantis technology. It may tell us more than the SGC infirmary can."

Jennifer nodded slowly. "That's probably true."

"Also, it would be too obvious that something was going on if I show up back on earth for medical tests. Caroline would have to ground me because it's policy that pregnant women don't go through the gate. I'd be stuck there."

"I hadn't thought of that," Jennifer admitted. "Umm... you realize that you're off the mission roster here, also?"

"Yeah, I do," Sam agreed ruefully.

"All right, we'll do the tests here."

"How long will it take?"

"The testing itself will only take a few hours. The results in some cases may not be ready for a couple of weeks. When are you available?"

"I have a meeting at 1100, but I'm free this afternoon. And I can be free tomorrow—I planned to spend the day on paperwork in my office."

"Today and tomorrow is plenty of time. I'll draw blood and do the preliminary today, and tomorrow morning we'll do scans and an ultrasound. Can you be back here at 1400?"

"Yes. That's fine." Sam smiled. "Thank you, Jennifer."

Sam spent two hours in the infirmary that afternoon, and returned the next morning for more tests.

**jsjsjsjs**

It was three days later when Jennifer called Sam to her office.

"I did comparisons of your current scans and tests with those from before Jolinar to see if there were any detectible differences," the doctor said. "I didn't find anything that couldn't be attributed to the passage of time or some other change that's happened in those eleven years. As far as I can tell, the only effect has been the presence of naquadah in your blood, and we know that hasn't caused you any direct harm. It does make you more resistant to certain medications, especially anesthesia."

"Are you saying that the naquadah and protein marker don't present any risk for the pregnancy?"

"No, I can't say that. There's no way I can know that for sure, Sam. But there's been no adverse effects on _you_ that can be traced to either abnormality. Your scans all came back good. There's no structural reason why you can't carry a child to term. However, there are still test results that won't be back for a few more days. We need to wait for those in order to have the most complete picture we can get."

Sam nodded. "All right."

"Also, your baby is healthy. He has none of the markers for genetic conditions that we test for in older patients..."

"He?" Sam interrupted, grinning. "The baby's a boy?"

Jennifer smiled. "Yes. Sorry. I was getting to that. Yes—your baby is a boy."

Sam's smile widened and her eyes sparkled. "That's great," she said softly. "That's great..." Of course, she'd have felt the same way if Jennifer had told her it was a girl!

"You were right about the Atlantis technology giving us added information. We were able to check for a lot of things earlier than we can with earth facilities. The genetic tests I mentioned, for example. I'll call you as soon as the other tests come back."

"Thank you." Sam started to rise.

"There's one more thing, Colonel."

"Yes?"

"Your baby is carrying the Ancient gene."

**sjsjsjsj**

"I know you're frustrated, Jack," Daniel said. "I understand that. But don't start doubting that Sam loves you! Not for one minute does she want out of your relationship—I'd stake my life on that. She's running Atlantis! That takes a lot of her attention."

"I know, Daniel. I know." Jack ran a hand through his already rumpled hair and reached for his beer. Sam had been gone eight weeks—eight weeks that felt like eight months! The two men were sitting in the living room of Jack's Alexandria row house, waiting for the dinner they had called out for half an hour ago. "But I feel like something's wrong—something she's not telling me. The last couple of flash thingies she's sent just aren't normal. They're a lot shorter—and she seems like she's in rush..."

Jack and Sam had been exchanging encrypted flash drives, with personal messages, just about every week since she had been in Atlantis. Each time the wormhole between Earth and Atlantis opened, they would send through the little portable drives, to be delivered by the person traveling through the gate.

"She's got a big job, Jack," Daniel repeated. "It's only going to be about six more weeks, anyway. Right?"

"That's the original timeline. Yes." Jack nodded.

"Has the IOA made any progress picking Dr. Weir's permanent replacement yet? It's been six weeks since she turned in her resignation."

"They haven't let Homeworld know it if they have. They're still resisting the idea of a military leader—even though the best candidates are military." Jack picked at the label on his bottle. He refused to voice his biggest fear—that the IOA would offer the job to Carter, who was undoubtedly _the_ best choice, despite being Air Force. The thought made his gut clench, and he downed a long swallow of his beer. It terrified him that she might accept the position if it were offered. She would almost have to—the pressure on her would be enormous.

"Do you know who's on the list?"

"I've seen it. Sheppard's on there. McKay, believe it or not. Col. Mark Danson, 2IC of the Odyssey Project. He'd be a good choice because he's both Air Force and scientist. And Dr. Francine Michaels."

"The Dr. Michaels who was at the Antarctic research station—the one who found Ayiana?"

"That's her. Afterwards she was head of that project. And more recently head of R and D at Area 51. Does brilliant work. The only drawback is she has no off-world experience."

"Well, we all started somewhere," Daniel commented. "Anyone else on the list?"

"Yeah." Jack didn't say any more.

After a moment, Daniel looked at Jack, and immediately read his expression. "Oh, no. Sam."

"Yeah." Jack finished off his beer.

"And you're afraid they've chosen her and she knows it, and doesn't know how to tell you."

"That's it," Jack confirmed. He got up and headed for the kitchen. Naturally Daniel had said it all in that one sentence—everything that Jack had been trying to avoid thinking about! He grabbed another beer from the fridge, and when he turned around, he discovered Daniel had followed him. "Look, Danny. Can we not talk about Sam right now? I really don't want to."

"I... all right, Jack. I'm sorry. I just can't believe that she..." He broke off when he saw Jack close his eyes in frustration. Mentally Daniel kicked himself. He really didn't believe that Sam would hold something like this back from Jack, and he wanted to convince him of that. At the same time, he didn't want to upset his friend any further.

Just then the doorbell rang. Dinner was here!

"Saved by the bell," Jack muttered, and brushed past Daniel, heading for the door.


	2. Chapter 2

**ten weeks since Sam left for Atlantis**

Jack was exhausted. It had been a very stressful week. It was now fourteen hundred on Friday afternoon, and he still had a meeting ahead of him.

He wouldn't make it to Cheyenne Mountain tonight for Atlantis' weekly check-in. He'd heard very little from Sam in the past two weeks. Sheppard had given last week's report, so he hadn't even heard her voice. The flash drives she sent had been brief and uninformative. On them she'd apologized several times for being distracted, citing her workload, and repeated that she loved him. Maybe it was simply his own insecurities, but he didn't believe that was the whole story. He needed to know what was wrong...

He shook his head, refocusing on the meeting notes in front of him. _He had to keep his attention where it belonged._

The intercom on his desk buzzed and he answered. "Yes, Blackman?"

"General, Mr. Woolsey is here, and would like to see you."

Jack felt a stab of fear—_had something happened to her..._ No. Hank would've called him first, not left it up to that officious little git to tell him.

He drew a breath. "Send him in, Blackman."

**sjsjsjsj**

"Stargate Activation!"

Carter raised her head from the report on her computer, then glanced at the clock. 09.45. She pushed back her chair and headed out into the Atlantis control room. Down on the lower level, the gate was spinning toward the second chevron.

"Are we expecting any teams in?" Sam asked.

Lt. Morrison, the duty officer, shook her head. "No, ma'am. Major Lorne's team isn't due for twelve more hours. And Captain Farrell's not for another day."

"Activate the shield."

Morrison placed her hand over the sensor, and the shield shimmered into existence.

The gate continued to cycle through the address. Lt. Colonel John Sheppard arrived and walked over to stand beside Sam, giving her a sidelong glance, eyebrow raised. She shrugged to indicate she had no idea.

Chevron seven engaged, and the ring reversed into another revolution. Sam relaxed slightly. Eight chevrons meant this was most likely the Midway Station stargate. Who would be coming in from the SGC?

"Chevron eight locked," Morrison announced. "Receiving Midway's IDC."

"Respond," Sam ordered.

"This is Atlantis, Midway." The lieutenant spoke into the communicator. "Do you have a traveler?"

"This is Midway Station. We have two travelers, Atlantis. IOA Authorization Woolsey. Sending ID codes now."

Sam and Sheppard looked at one another. Woolsey? Why was he coming here now? Unannounced?

Their curiosity would not be satisfied immediately. The intergalactic stargate bridge consisted of thirty-four stargates spanning the distance from the Milky Way to the Pegasus galaxy, synchronized to dial in sequence, without requiring travelers to rematerialize for each gate. Traversing the seventeen gates between Midway and Atlantis would take approximately fifteen minutes.

"ID codes are valid," Morrison announced.

"Give the all clear and drop the shield," Sam ordered.

"Midway Station, you are clear to transport," Morrison said into the radio, at the same time disengaging the stargate's protective shield.

"John, station a security team at the gate," Sam instructed as she turned back toward her office. "Lieutenant, call me at the three minute mark."

John gave her a casual salute and Morrison responded with, "Yes, ma'am."

Sam spent the next twelve minutes reading the mission report she'd begun earlier. Now that she was grounded from gate travel, she had found that it was easier to be on top of all of her paperwork, and finishing this report cleared her inbox, at least for the time being. She was just getting up to head for the control room, when Lt. Morrison gave her the warning she had requested.

The control room had filled up while she was gone. About two dozen people were standing around, talking or simply watching the shimmering event horizon. Word had spread quickly—a traveler from Earth was a rarity, even more so an unexpected one. Ronon Dex and Teyla Emmagan were talking to Sheppard, and Rodney McKay was hovering over the tech station—annoying Lt. Morrison, Sam was certain. Dr. Radek Zalenka had arrived and taken the backup station, relieving the airman who had been seated there. Dr. Keller was just descending the stairs from the infirmary level and headed toward Sam when she saw her emerge from her office.

"How are you feeling today, Colonel?" Keller asked quietly. Sam had not made a general announcement of her pregnancy. Besides herself and Keller, only John Sheppard knew at this point. Her withdrawal from gate travel was explained by administrative duties.

"I'm fine, Doctor."

"Morning sickness?" Jennifer knew better than to simply accept Sam's pat answer.

"Much better." That had the ring of truth.

"Good."

"One minute until traveler arrival," Lt. Morrison announced.

Sam, John, Keller, Ronon, Teyla and McKay moved toward the stairs and descended to the stargate level, joining the armed four-man security team already waiting. Sheppard and Ronan were also fully armed. Surprises came through the stargate far too often to be lax.

The event horizon rippled and Richard Woolsey, representative counsel for the IOA bustled through. Woolsey's face, as well as his officious and self-important personality, was well-known to all the Atlantis personnel. His arrival on Atlantis was hardly a welcome event for anyone.

The second person stepped through the gate in a much more leisurely fashion, and his presence drew everyone's attention and immediately eclipsed that of Woolsey.

The event horizon evaporated behind him.

Major General Jack O'Neill walked away from the gate, past Woolsey, and halted three feet in front of Carter, his eyes fastened on her face. He was stiff and stern, and his expression brought every military person present to instant attention. John Sheppard's heels almost clicked. The security detail straightened with a snap. On the upper level, the Air Force personnel came to their feet.

"Sir!" Sam exclaimed smartly, coming to attention with the rest, but her eyes met his and sent a message that telegraphed her joyful surprise.

An instant later, she had blinked the expression away, but he saw it, and some of the tension he was holding eased. "Carter," he said quietly, locking his gaze with hers. After a moment he tore his eyes away and glanced around. "At ease, everybody." He looked back at Carter and allowed himself a moment to enjoy being in the same room with her once again.

It took some effort to direct his attention to the other people present. Just then Mr. Woolsey decided to take over the situation, and Jack was happy to let him, not sure what he would have said next. His eyes moved back to Carter's face.

"Colonel Carter." Woolsey's tone was abrupt. "Colonel Sheppard. Dr. McKay." He ignored the others present.

Sheppard could see that something was happening between Carter and the General. Sam appeared shocked into silence.

John took a half step forward. "Mr. Woolsey. This is a surprise. To what do we owe this... visit?"

"I need to meet privately with the three of you," Woolsey stated.

"_We_ need to meet with the three of you," Jack corrected, finally redirecting his attention from Carter. "Ms. Emmagan, Dr. Keller, Ronon. Good to see all of you. Sheppard. McKay." He deliberately made his greeting more cordial than Woolsey's had been. He ignored the look that Woolsey shot toward him.

Sheppard glanced at Sam, and she nodded for him to continue. "Then let's head to the conference room," he said. He dismissed the security detail, then turned to lead the way up the stairs. In the control room, he nodded at Morrison. "Lieutenant, the deck is yours."

"Yes, sir," she acknowledged.

The five of them made their way down the corridor that led to the conference. Ronon, Teyla and Jennifer had followed them up the stairs as far as the control room.

"I wonder what that's all about," Jennifer said in a low voice.

"I am certain we will be informed when the time comes," Teyla said.

"Can't be anything good," Ronon declared. "Not with that little man calling the shots."

John led the way through the corridor, with Woolsey straining to match his stride. Sam walked just behind them, beside Rodney, but she was acutely aware of Jack's presence bringing up the rear. His tense and rigid body language disturbed her, and she had the sense that it had to do with him and her, rather than whatever had brought Woolsey and Jack to Atlantis. She was dying to talk to him, but Woolsey's presence made it impossible for her to speak to him alone at the moment.

The conference room door slid open to admit the group and then closed behind them. Sam moved around to her accustomed place at the oval table, opposite the door. The others ranged themselves around the table. Jack sat across from her, where he could see her face.

"Now, Mr. Woolsey," Sam began. "What can we do for you?"

"I'm here..." Woolsey glanced at Jack. "We're here to conduct interviews."

"What kind of interviews?" John asked.

"I assume you are aware that Dr. Weir had submitted her resignation. She will not be returning as Administrator of Atlantis."

"We are," Sam said. "It was a blow to everyone. Her people here are disappointed."

"Yes, I understand," Woolsey agreed perfunctorily. "The IOA needs to appoint a permanent replacement as soon as possible. The three of you are on our short list."

Rodney straightened abruptly. "Me? You're thinking about appointing _me_?"

"You're being considered, Dr. McKay, along with the others. Your scientific credentials are among the best..."

"I _am _the foremost expert on Atlantis, Mr. Woolsey," Rodney cut in eagerly. "And my scientific credentials are superior! The IOA is wise to consider the contributions of science when considering a new Administrator. I can assure you that I would make an excellent leader for the expedition." Rodney was practically bouncing in his seat with excitement.

"And he's modest and self-effacing, too," John put in wryly.

McKay shot John an irked look and opened his mouth again.

"However," Woolsey interrupted. "We must consider the fact that much more than a scientific mind is needed in the position. That's why I intend to interview each one of you at length to determine your qualifications. General O'Neill has kindly volunteered to assist in the interviewing process," he added, without enthusiasm.

Sam put a hand to her face to hide the involuntary smile that threatened, and Jack smirked openly.

"Are there other people on your list, Mr. Woolsey?" John asked.

"Yes. Colonel Mark Danson who's currently heading the Odyssey Project in Colonel Carter's absence, and also Dr. Francine Michaels, head or R&amp;D at Area 51. Colonel Danson combines the best of military as well as scientific qualifications. And Dr. Michaels' work at the Ancient Outpost in Antarctica gives her a unique perspective."

"The outpost is hardly the same as being here on Atlantis itself," Rodney put in fervently, leaning forward. "As you know I've been here since the beginning, and am imminently qualified..."

"We're aware of your qualifications, McKay," Jack cut in. "That's the _only_ reason you're on the list _at all_."

Rodney subsided somewhat. "Of course... I simply wanted to point out..."

"Rodney," Sheppard warned. "Enough."

"Thank you, Colonel," Woolsey said. "So we'd like to set up a schedule for the interviews. We've set aside the next two days for this visit, and I'd like to get started right away."

"I can help you with your time constraints, Mr. Woolsey," Sam said.

"Oh? How's that, Colonel Carter?"

"I'm withdrawing my name from consideration." She was looking at Jack when she said it, and saw the instant flaring of surprise and hope in his eyes. She smiled a little. Rodney looked startled also. The only one who seemed unfazed was John, and she assumed it was because he knew her reason.

"I don't understand, Colonel..." Woolsey almost stuttered.

"I am not a candidate for a long-term posting here. I plan to return to Earth as soon as a permanent administrator is in place." She gave him a pleasant smile. "I'm sure you'll have no trouble completing the interviews of Colonel Sheppard and Dr. McKay in the time allotted. I'll be happy to put any facilities you need at your disposal, and to assist you in any way I can."

"This is... a surprise, Colonel," Woolsey managed, for once nearly speechless. "We had assumed... That is, your name is at the top of the list."

This last statement brought a frown to Rodney's face.

"You have four excellent candidates to consider, Mr. Woolsey," Sam said smoothly. "I've worked with all of them, and they each possess unique qualifications. I'm sure any one of them would be an admirable choice. Just tell me when you would like to begin."

They decided to begin with Sheppard, much to McKay's disappointment. The first session would start after lunch, and continue through the afternoon. John's interview would finish up the next morning. Tomorrow afternoon and the morning after, Woolsey and Jack would speak with Rodney. That would leave that afternoon for any loose ends, and then the two men would return to the SGC early in the evening.

"Very well," Sam stood up, indicating that the meeting was ended. "John, would you arrange quarters for General O'Neill and Mr. Woolsey."

"Yes, Colonel."

"Colonel Sheppard can answer any questions you have," she said to Woolsey.

Sheppard got the hint that Carter wanted to speak to General O'Neill alone, so he showed Woolsey out of the conference room. Predictably Rodney came hurrying after them, talking rapidly about his own qualifying experience. They vanished into the corridor and the door slid shut.

Jack and Sam were left alone, facing each other across the conference table.

She smiled hugely. "I can't believe you're here!" she exclaimed.

"I can't believe what you just did," he replied. "Are you sure..."

"I'm positive. Atlantis isn't what I want, Jack. We can talk about it later, if you like, but you can't convince me to change my mind."

"I don't want to try and change your mind." He came swiftly around the table to stand directly in front of her. They stared at one another. He wanted to put his arms around her and hold her tight, but there were security cameras, and also someone could come in at any moment. Instead he reached over and grasped her hand.

She squeezed his hand in return. "Are you okay? You looked so... well, angry, when you came through the gate."

He cleared his throat uncertainly. "I haven't heard much from you the past few weeks. I was worried." He rubbed the back of his neck. "About us..."

"What? No!" she exclaimed. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to worry you. Nothing's wrong. Just busy..." She waved a hand to indicate their surroundings, which he took to mean her responsibilities. "We can talk about it when we get some time alone," she promised.

The last traces of tension slid away from his posture, and he smiled. "Time alone with you sounds good."

They continued to simply stand there, taking in the sight of one another.

"We should probably go," Sam whispered finally.

"Yeah. Before I do something unprofessional."

"Later..."

He nodded. Reluctantly, they turned toward the door.

They ate lunch with the others in the cafeteria, sitting at two tables pulled together, as Rodney carried on about his qualifications, and John nervously shoved his food around his plate. They only half listened to Woolsey expound on the importance of the IOA and his own role. They did not notice the looks exchanged by Keller and Teyla as they watched the General and Colonel trying not to stare into each other's eyes.

"I've set aside a small conference room on the twentieth level of the central tower for your interviews," Sam told Woolsey as they left the cafeteria. "Colonel Sheppard knows the one I mean." She glanced at John who nodded. "Feel free to come and go as you please and call if you need anything."

"Thank you, Colonel Carter," Woolsey said, sounding the most genial that he had since he arrived. He looked at O'Neill and Sheppard. "General. Colonel. If you're ready."

"Yes, sir." John nodded.

"Be right along," Jack said.

John and Woolsey headed for the lift and Jack turned to Carter. "Dinner tonight? In private?"

She smiled. "My quarters. Twenty hundred hours?"

"Done." With a long look into her eyes he walked after the other two.

Sam watched him go, and then turned toward her office. She had work to do.

**jsjsjsjs**

By 1700 hours, Jack was certain there was nothing Woolsey hadn't asked Sheppard about himself—right down to the condition of his toenails! He had to admit that John had held up well against what could only be called an antagonistic interrogation. Despite the fact that Woolsey had Sheppard's reports and records right in front of him, he had insisted that the man explain every action and decision he'd made in the three years on Atlantis.

As John completed his answer to Woolsey's last question, Jack pushed his chair back and got to his feet. "That's enough for today," he said. "We'll continue this tomorrow morning at 0900."

Sheppard stood up as soon as Jack did.

"General, I think..." Woolsey began.

Jack cut him off. "Sheppard, you're dismissed. Good night."

"Yes, sir." John left the room.

"General O'Neill," Woolsey exclaimed. "I wasn't finished..."

"Yes you are, Woolsey," Jack stated flatly. "You're done. If you have more _legitimate _questions, you can ask them tomorrow."

"Legitimate questions?"

"Yes." Jack leaned forward, hands on the table. "Every question you've asked for the past ninety minutes is answered in that file you have in front of you. Everything he said conforms to the reports he wrote. All of those reports were read and reviewed by Dr. Weir, by myself, and by the IOA. You are wasting time. Sheppard's time. Your own time. And _my_ time. Tomorrow morning, I will ask the questions."

Woolsey sputtered. "It's my responsibility to conduct these interviews..."

"Then conduct an interview. Not an interrogation!" Jack straightened and headed for the door.

Out in the corridor he shook his head in exasperation and made for the lift. In the car, he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. He was exhausted. He'd been tired before he came on this jaunt. Only the prospect of seeing Carter had made him agree, and now he felt so drained he was afraid he wouldn't enjoy her company. Sitting there listening to Woolsey and his inane babbling had leached away nearly all of his energy.

Getting off at the level where his quarters were located, he made straight for his room. Inside his removed his uniform jacket and shirt, sat down and took off his shoes. He exchanged his dress trousers for sweat pants from his bag. He locked the door, set his watch alarm for two hours and lay down on the bed. In five minutes he was asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**This is the chapter with the cautionary T+ rating. Oh, yes, also Fluff Warning! In fact, now that I've got it written, it's mostly fluff, not really much else. Forget about the first caution!**

**sjsjsjsj**

Jack awoke when his alarm went off feeling much better than when he'd laid down. He stood under the shower for twenty minutes, shaving while he was there, and managed to nick himself only once. Once out and drying off, he stuck a piece of tissue on the cut to stop the bleeding.

He dressed in black jeans and a black tee, with a light gray long-sleeved shirt over, unbuttoned and tails out. Into his pocket he slipped a small white box. A glance at his watch told him he had ten minutes. He left his quarters and took the lift to Carter's level, pausing for a few minutes on one of the numerous balconies overlooking the ocean. This one evidently faced west, because sunset was just fading over the water. The color quickly washed out and darkness descended. He walked down the corridor and touched the chime beside Carter's door. It was exactly 20:00 hours.

**jsjsjsjs**

Sam glared at the clock on her dresser. It was 19:20 hours and she had just emerged from the shower. She was standing in front of her closet, trying to decide what to wear. There were half a dozen dresses, but she was not sure she wanted to be that dressed up. After all, he would probably show up in jeans. She caught sight of a blue silk tank top that she hadn't worn in quite a while, and pulled it out, holding it up to the light. The color was a perfect complement to her eyes, and she studied it, wondering what she could pair it with. At last she picked a pair of black, wide-legged silk and linen blend trousers, and laid the two items across her bed. Yes, that looked good. From her very meager supply of jewelry, she picked a pair of dangly earrings, with glass beads the same color as the top. Holding them up to her ears, she smiled at her reflection in the mirror.

As she dried her hair she thought of the plan she'd made for the evening. There was Guinness in her small fridge for Jack. No alcohol for her, of course, just some sparkling water. She'd arranged for dinner to be sent to her quarters at 21:00; grilled salmon with jasmine rice and asparagus, a tossed salad, and chocolate cake for dessert. The kitchen in Atlantis was excellent—more like a really good restaurant than a military eatery. That had been a nice surprise! But after all, these people lived and worked in the same place. There was no 'outside world' to get away to. They certainly deserved a good place to eat!

Standing sideways to the wall mirror, she noted that her belly was still flat. Eight or nine weeks along, and there was no sign yet that she was pregnant. There were almost no symptoms—the morning sickness had largely subsided, and the only difference she noticed was the tendency to be a bit more tired than usual. She was a bit disappointed—she was looking forward to actually looking and feeling pregnant!

She couldn't wait to see Jack's face when she told him about the baby!

She dressed carefully, dabbing on a little of the scent she sometimes wore which matched the floral body wash and shampoo she always used. Her eyes lingered on the small dark blue box on her dresser.

At 19:50 she emerged from her bedroom into the sitting room. She'd taken time to tidy up earlier. Generally, she was, if not exactly a slob, much less particular about her surroundings in her personal space. Tonight everything was organized and neat. She brought the blue box with her, and set it unobtrusively on the table behind the sofa, half hidden by a vase of flowers.

She glanced around. The lights were soft, but not too dim. She'd cleared the coffee table of books and computer, so that they could eat there. Okay. It looked comfortable and welcoming. She was wondering if she'd forgotten anything when her door chimed.

**sjsjsjsj**

There was a tiny piece of tissue stuck to his chin. She grinned and touched her own chin then pointed to his.

"What?" He reached for the spot, made an inarticulate sound and scraped the speck away, demolishing it in the process. "Sorry about that."

"Come on in." She took hold of his hand and tugged so that he stepped inside, allowing the door to slide shut. As soon as they were in private, she slid her arms up around his neck and drew his head down to kiss him.

His arms went around her immediately, pulling her tight against his body. He groaned when her lips parted under his. The kiss was long and deep and erotic, and engulfed them both from their tongues all the way down to their toes. "Oh, my God—I have missed you!" he whispered, burying his face in her neck, and if possible, holding her even closer. It didn't matter if he couldn't breathe! Holding onto her was much more important! Both of them were panting when they finally had to part.

"Me, too," she sighed, caressing the back of his neck and slipping her fingers up into his hair. She turned her head to kiss his cheek. "Me, too..." She was already weak with arousal, and thrust her hips against his hardness when he began to suck the soft flesh below her ear. "Oh, Jack..."

He turned them so that her back was against the wall, and nudged one jeans-clad knee between her thighs. One hand found the hem of her tank, and the smooth skin underneath; he hissed when her unbound breast came into his hand and his hips jerked involuntarily. He drew back enough to see her face as his thumb stroked the rigid nipple, and felt the downward spiral of his self-control as her head fell back against the wall, and he looked into blue eyes, pupils huge with desire.

"Bed!" he croaked.

**jsjsjsjs**

The bedside clock read 20:43.

"Dinner will be here soon," she said drowsily.

"Call 'em and tell 'em to leave outside." He rolled toward her, draped a bare leg across her hips and began kissing her shoulder, moving slowly up toward her throat.

She moaned as he found an especially sensitive spot and began to nibble. "Maybe I should just cancel it..."

"Nope," he said, between nips. "Starvation is going to hit in about an hour."

She made the call asking the cafeteria to delay dinner for half an hour and to leave it outside, then turned back into his arms, snuggling down close. He pulled her close and wrapped himself warmly around her.

It was nearly 21:45 when they woke.

Jack pulled on his jeans and Sam slipped into a black silk dressing gown, then they went to the door to check for their dinner. Out in the corridor was a wheeled cart with a large covered tray on top. On the lower shelf was a folded tablecloth, napkins, glasses, flatware and another covered dish with dessert. No one was in sight.

They rolled the cart in and set out dinner on the coffee table. The food was still surprisingly hot, fragrant and plentiful. Jack was right, suddenly they were both famished. Sam got drinks from the fridge; he sat on the couch and she sank down on a cushion across the table from him.

The meal was delicious. Jack cleaned his plate, and started stealing small bites off hers. She finished her asparagus, but seemed to be ignoring the last of her salmon. When he snuck his fork in that direction, she merely grinned. He speared the piece and bit off part of it, offering the remainder to her temptingly. She nodded for him to take it, and he raised his eyebrows—_You sure?_ She nodded again and he popped it into his mouth. She withdrew the dessert dish from the lower shelf of the cart.

Jack's eyes widened when she uncovered the chocolate cake, and an anticipatory groan escaped his lips. She set his large wedge in front of him. He closed his eyes and moaned again as he took the first bite. She laughed at his reaction.

When they were done, they placed all the plates and utensils back on the cart and moved it out of the way. Sam came around the coffee table to sit beside him on the sofa.

He raised an arm and wrapped it around her shoulders and pulled her close. "That was great," he said. "We never had anything that good in the cafeteria at the Mountain."

"Yeah. The food here is excellent." She curled into his shoulder and slipped her arm across his bare chest. "How did the interview go this afternoon?"

Jack grimaced. "Actually, I thought Sheppard did very well, considering Woolsey seemed to be on a mission to bushwhack him at every turn. John's qualifications are pretty clear from his record. I think Woolsey would do better to ask about his future plans for Atlantis."

"John considers this place his home now," Sam said. "Although without Elizabeth, I don't know if that will continue."

"You think there was something between them?"

"I don't know. I probably shouldn't even say anything. His chances shouldn't depend on gossip, after all."

"But there is gossip?"

"Jack..." She looked up into his face.

"Hey, I'm not judging," he insisted. "There was gossip about us, too, and we both know that it didn't affect our professional performance. The thing is, though, we at least were able to work together and see each other nearly every day. Elizabeth's not going to be here."

"And you're wondering if that will affect whether he'll want to stay."

He shrugged. "Maybe."

"I guess John will have to make that decision," she said after a moment. "Did Woolsey go for that line of questioning?"

"No."

"Well, if they offer him the job and he takes it, I'm sure he'll be fully committed. And I don't know anyone better qualified to handle the administrative and military aspects of the assignment." She grinned. "And there's also nobody else who can handle Rodney nearly as well as John does."

"So you'd recommend Sheppard over McKay as administrator?"

"Yes," she said thoughtfully. "But Rodney's the expert on the city. Nobody knows Atlantis' workings and systems like he does. And he's brilliant."

"Just obnoxious."

"That doesn't affect the quality of his work," she stated positively. Then she smiled. "But I really don't want to talk about Rodney or John or even Atlantis tonight." She tangled her fingers in the soft hair of his chest.

"That's fine with me. In fact..." He kissed her forehead. "...I'd just as soon..." Then her nose. "... not talk at all." And finally, her lips.

It was a while before they ended the kiss, ended it softly with small sighs, nibbles and mini-kisses on jaws and throats and shoulders...

Sam stretched tall and kissed Jack's cheek and temple. He closed his eyes, reveling in her attention. Her lips were soft on his skin. The dampness of her tongue touched his cheek, and worked its way slowly, torturously toward his mouth. He opened his lips in anticipation of her kiss, but instead, he felt her reach over his shoulder. Surprised, he opened his eyes to see what she was doing.

From the table behind them, she took a small blue box.

"Whatcha got there?" he murmured.

"It's a gift – for you." She held up the box and took off the lid. Inside on dark blue velvet lay a metal disc about two inches in diameter.

She lifted the disc from the box, then took his hand and laid the disc in his palm. He was surprised at its weight. It was dark gold in color, and around the circumference was a slightly raised rim about one quarter of an inch wide. When he looked closer he could see the first six symbols for Earth's gate address inscribed around the rim. In the center, large enough to fill the space, was Earth's point of origin symbol, in bas-relief. There was a loop at the top, for a chain.

"It's beautiful," he said softly. "But, what...?"

"I hope you'll take it – It's a promise—because I want to marry you, Jack O'Neill, and... well I hope that's what you want, too." Her voice shook, and she was shocked that she was so nervous.

Stunned, Jack could only stare at her, as she turned the disk over and directed his attention to the other side.

The word 'Always' was written across the full diameter, in perfect script. Above the word was inscribed the initial **J**, and below it the initial **S**.

"This is to promise you that I'm yours – always." She'd practiced the little speech a dozen times without a hitch, but it wasn't coming out at all like she planned! She couldn't even look him in the eyes, but instead stared down at the disc. "And if getting married isn't what you want, then I'm still yours—as long as you want me to be, because there's no one else in the world that I want to belong to."

She paused to breathe—then rushed on, terrified, because he wasn't saying _anything!_ "It's made of an alloy of gold and titanium. It's very strong. Teyla created it—she does beautiful metalwork. I... I... told her what I wanted and she sketched several designs. This was the best one—it says exactly what I want it to... So, uh, this is a proposal... will you... I mean...?"

"Sam..." he got out, in a strangled breath.

"If you don't want to get married, that's okay..." she blurted. "I'm perfectly fine with what we've got. This isn't an ultimatum or anything like that..."

"Sam," he said again, more strongly. "Yes."

"I don't mean to pressure you... if you don't—"

"Yes, Sam," he cut in. He was starting to grin now. "Absolutely. Yes."

"We don't have to... I mean..." She blinked, finally met his eyes. "...What?"

"Yes! Positively. Yes. I. Want to. Marry. You." There was a big, beautiful smile on his face, and a look in his eyes of pure joy. "Come here..." he breathed, reaching for her. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her shoulder. A moment later he was kissing her throat, her jaw and finally her lips.

He was overwhelmed by her proposal and, after his acceptance, could not find anything else to say, so he simply held onto her and hoped that somehow she would absorb all his thoughts and feelings through their skin-contact... The joy he felt knowing he would spend the rest of his life with her. The image of the two of them making love... or making dinner... or just making time for each other. And she had declined the leadership of Atlantis! _That's the best news he can imagine! Besides the fact that he wants to marry him, of course! God! He loves her so much!_

_He can't not be touching her!_ So when she moved as if to draw away he resisted letting her go. He was barely conscious of doing it—his hands and body were acting on their own without instructions from his brain.

There was a sound coming from somewhere... a sweet sound. It took a moment to identify it as her laugh as she gently put a little distance between them.

"You'll wear it?" she asked grinning.

"Absolutely." He reached for his dog tags, unfastened the chain, and slipped the disc on it—then settled it around his neck again, with the 'Always' side showing.

"I brought something for you, too." He dug into the pocket of his jeans. "It's kind of anti-climactic... after what you've just done... not nearly as dramatic..." He broke off. "Oh, come on..." he muttered. The little box was hung up in the pocket lining. He struggled with it, laughing in the end, when he finally managed to extract it. "I hope it's okay if I don't get down on my knees." He opened the box and presented it to her. "I'll wear yours and you wear mine."

The deep blue sapphire gathered even the dim lighting in the room and throbbed with a fire all its own.

"Oh, my God, Jack," she whispered. She reached for it, then hesitated.

He took the ring from the box. "Give me your hand."

She held out her left hand and he slipped the ring onto her third finger. It fit perfectly, just as he knew it would—he'd had it sized for her long ago.

She held her hand up to admire it. "It's so beautiful, Jack..." she whispered. "How did you find it?"

"It was my grandmother's. She gave it to me years ago, after my grandfather died—along with their wedding rings. If you want to use them. Or maybe you'd rather we got our own..." He lifted the inside bottom of the box and showed her the two bands. Like the engagement ring, they were platinum—the woman's with small baguette diamonds matching the ones flanking the sapphire, the man's with a single small square sapphire set deeply into the precious metal.

"They're gorgeous! Of course I want to use them!" She took the bands out of the box so she could see them more closely. "I've never seen anything like them!" She put her arms around him and kissed him again. "Thank you, Jack," she said softly.

"Thank _you_, Samantha," he whispered. "This has been the most perfect evening! I can't imagine being happier than I am right now!"

She chuckled. "Well, hold on to your hat, General," she said. "There's more to come..."


	4. Chapter 4

**For what I am about to do, I deeply and humbly apologize... but I'm gonna do it anyway!**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**jsjsjsjs**

They were cuddled together in Sam's bed. Jack's arm was warm around her shoulders. He reached for her left hand and brought it to his lips, kissing the back of her fingers and the ring she was now wearing. Her other hand wandered across his chest, idly playing with the gold disc on his chain. They had been quiet for a while, content to be with each other and the promise of their future.

He was thinking of long winter evenings beside a fire, warm and cozy, as a blizzard raged outside the cabin, across the wide Minnesota landscape... Or perhaps a late summer day, with a fishing pole in one hand, a beer in the other, with her sitting on the dock at his feet, teasing him about no fish in the pond... Retirement; peace and quiet and uninterrupted days and nights with his wife...

He turned slightly to bury his face in the scent of her hair. What had she said about more to come...?

Sam was thinking about the baby. Their son! How wonderful it would be to have that little guy in their life! She couldn't wait to see Jack with him! She hoped he would look like Jack! What would they name him? Did she dare suggest Jonathan? She really liked the name...

Oh, it would be a lot of work—sure. Midnight feedings and diapers and babysitters... but later there would be little feet running around the house, and laughter and love—

And worry. Was he healthy, could she keep him safe? What if he got sick? It would be a huge amount of responsibility, for both her and Jack...

Suddenly she was even more nervous than when she'd bumbled through her proposal speech. She'd been looking forward to telling Jack about the baby—but now she was scared. She thought he'd be as happy as she was, but what if he wasn't? What if he didn't want a child at this point in his life—he was fifty-seven, after all... Not that she ever thought of him as old, he was just too loving and full of life! But he'd be in his mid-seventies before this child graduated from high school. And what if the thought of dealing with all the chaos of raising a kid was just too much!

Or even worse—what if her news brought up terrible memories of his first child, of Charlie and the way he had died! What if Jack's emotions were too fragile to handle something like this? Oh, God, she should have told him first! Before the promises! Before she asked him to marry her! How stupid of her... She should have given him at least that little chance to escape—to get out of the relationship if he was unable to deal with it...

She could feel the tension building in her body as her fear escalated.

"Sam?" Jack sounded concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Huh?" She blinked and turned to him. "What..."

"If you squeeze my hand much harder, it's gonna fall off."

"Oh!" She realized she was gripping his fingers with all of her strength and immediately let go. "I'm sorry! I didn't... I mean, I was just thinking about something."

"Well it must have been pretty serious. That was starting to hurt," he added with a half smile. "Wanna tell me about it?"

She locked her eyes on the warmth of his, and nodded slowly. "Yeah," she whispered. "Actually, I do. Jack..."

She was cut off by the wail of a siren. Her head came up.

"What?" Jack yelled over the noise.

"It's a perimeter alarm!" she shouted back, jumping to her feet. She crossed to the communicator on her desk, hit the switch. "This is Carter! What's happening?"

The penetrating noise was abruptly dialed down several notches.

"Colonel," Sheppard's voice came over the speaker. "A ship just appeared about 70 klicks above the city. Shields have been raised."

"Appeared? It wasn't detected approaching?"

"Evidently, it was cloaked, Colonel."

"I'll be right there!"

Sam scrambled for her BDUs. Jack had already pulled on his jeans and was tying his shoes. Two minutes later they were both dressed and on their way to the control room.

They exited the lift on the control level to a chorus of voices.

"There's no answer to our hails, sir!"

"Keep trying!"

"We don't have anything like it in our database!"

"The ship is descending, sir!"

"Track that! How fast?"

"One K per minute, Colonel."

"I'm not detecting any weapons, or power spikes!"

Sam hurried over to where Sheppard was standing in front of the large visual screen. The ship was visible, although the picture was indistinct.

"Can you resolve that?" Sam asked the tech.

"No, ma'am. The trouble is at the source. We think the cloak is still partially engaged."

"_Stella Navis. Det Rotas Caris Galax."_

Sam spun around at the voice. "Jack? What did you say?"

He was staring at the screen, and seemed not to hear her.

"General!"

He started and blinked. "What? Carter, what is it?"

"You said something. When you looked at the image. 'Stella Navis.' And then something like rota caris galax?"

He stared at her. After a moment he began to shake his head slowly. "No." He closed his eyes and put the heels of his hands to his forehead. "Not again..."

She reached to grasp his arm. "Jack—are you all right?"

"Headache... that's all..." He grimaced as the pain spiked behind his eyes. _"Navis signam Ero est... Perditas!"_ The words came out with difficulty.

He staggered and Sam tried to steady him, but his knees gave way. Sheppard jumped to his other side and together they eased him down to the deck.

"Get Dr. Keller!" Sheppard ordered. "And somebody figure out what he's saying!"

Sam was kneeling beside Jack, holding onto his arms. "Sir. What are you trying to say?"

"_Postulare adjutas..."_ Jack whispered.

"I've got a translation," Lt. Morrison said. "It's Ancient—sort of. There are differences, but I think this is it."

"Go ahead, Morrison," Sheppard said.

"First he said 'star ship'. Then something about a Wheel Galaxy—possibly the Cartwheel Galaxy. The ship is named Ero. Then he said 'Lost.' And just now, 'Need help.'"

"The ship has stopped it's descent," someone announced. "It's holding at 50 kilometers."

Jack was leaning heavily on Sam by this point. When he started to speak again, she leaned down to hear. _"Prepara transsendare..."_

Sam's gaze went to Morrison.

"Prepare... to transcend...?" the lieutenant said uncertainly. "What does that..."

There was a flash of white light and General Jack O'Neill vanished. Sam lost her balance and fell, barely catching herself with her hands.

There was a startled silence around the control room, and then an outburst of voices.

"What happened?"

"Where did he go...?"

"...tracking the beam..."

Dr. Keller was kneeling beside Sam. "Colonel, what happened? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. It's the General."

Keller looked around. "What? Where?"

"He disappeared..."

"...beam originated in the alien ship!" Rodney exclaimed. His eyes were round with shock. "They beamed General O'Neill up there!"

"What's happening here?!" Mr. Woolsey had arrived on the scene.

**sjsjsjsj**

Jack was lying on something hard and cold. Metal? _What...? What happened? Had he passed out? _Another pain stabbed his forehead, and he groaned, rolled onto his back and immediately regretted it. Bright light stabbed his eyes. He covered his face with one arm and waited for the pain to recede.

**~You are in pain~**

The voice was metallic, harsh. Way too loud! It was not speaking English, but he understood. _Oh, crap. Ancient!_

"Yeah, I'm in pain. Could ya speak a little softer..."

**~I do not understand~**

"Where am I?"

**~You are aboard the Ero~**

"The alien ship?"

**~As you would call it~**

"Can you dim the lights?"

The brightness was reduced instantly.

"Thanks." Jack lowered his arm and looked around. "Why am I here? And who are you? For that matter, _where_ are you? I don't see anybody."

**~I am here~**

"Where? I don't see you."

**~You see me. I am the ship~**

"I'm talking to a ship? That's new and different." The pain in his head was fading quickly, and he sat up slowly and looked around. The room he was in was octagonal. On every side were consoles, smooth-surfaced, but with a myriad of colored lights flashing and blinking. "So why am I here?"

**~Yours was the strongest life-sign~**

Jack frowned. "I don't get it?"

**~There are other beings below, but their signs were weaker~**

"Okay." He decided to let that pass. "But why did you bring me up here?"

**~We need your help~**

"There's more than one of you?"

**~There are many here like you~**

"Like me? You mean there are people on board?"

**~Yes~**

"Where are they?"

**~They sleep. You must waken them~**

"Uh... what?"

**~In return they will take you away from here, back to your own kind~**

"Huh? What... My own kind? What does that mean?"

**~They will take you with them when they return home~**

"Uh... no. _I am home!_ Those are my people down there. How about you just send me back!" He was on his feet. "Where are the controls for that beam?"

**~I cannot send you back until you waken them~**

"I'll see if I can wake 'em up. But only on the condition that I won't be going anywhere with you."

**~They will insist that you return with them~**

"Guess I won't be helping them then." Jack walked around the room, eyeing the various consoles. Some of the script looked familiar, but he could not read it. "Y'know, you kidnapped me. The people down in Atlantis might take it in their heads to shoot this ship down."

There was an odd sound from the machinery—almost as if the ship was troubled at that idea.

**~You are important to them~**

"Well, to some of them... yes. Others probably don't give a flying f... Never mind. I'm the highest ranking officer in the city, yes."

**~Then they would not put your life in danger~**

"I wouldn't count on that if I were you. There's at least one man down there who would be happy to see me gone. And with me missing, he has quite a lot of power."

There was a long silence. Jack continued to stroll around the space, examining everything. He stopped in front of one section of wall and stared at what he saw there. _Not another one of those head-sucker things!_

"Does this ship belong to the Ancients?" he asked.

**~I do not know that term~**

"The people who built Atlantis. They left this galaxy ten thousand years ago, after sinking the city to the bottom of the ocean. We're speaking their language—more or less." He'd noticed that there were differences, but the language base was the same.

**~Yes. These people once lived in this galaxy~**

"Then I really have no intention of going with you. None whatsoever. Nope. Never happen."

**~But you are one of them. My scans detected your DNA~**

"The Ancients lived on my home planet millennia ago. Some of us are descended from them, and still carry their DNA. That doesn't mean I'm one of them. And I won't go with them."

**~You are being unduly recalcitrant~**

"We don't respond well to kidnappings!"

**~I shall retrieve the person with the next strongest life-sign~ **

"What! No! Wait just a..."

He was interrupted by the white flash of the transporter, and Carter was standing beside him, a shocked look on her face.

"Sam!"

"Jack, are you all right?"

Jack grabbed her and turned his head, seemingly to speak to the air. "What the hell! You blew it, bud—she doesn't have the gene!"

There was a moment's pause before the voice came again.

**~It would seen that you are correct—however the child she carries does~**

"What! What child?" He turned to Carter. "Sam! What's..."

"I was about to tell you when the alarms went off!" she cried. "I'm sorry! I should have said something sooner..."

"You're pregnant?"

"Yes." She was almost afraid to look at him. "With our son."

"Oh my God," he whispered, taking her face in his hands and staring into her eyes. "Are you...sure?"

She nodded, and a smile lighted up his face like a beacon. It vanished only a moment later, however, and he turned away to look up into the air again.

"Send her back! You have to send her back!"

**~No~**

"Jack..." she pleaded

"I'll help you wake the crew, if you send her back!" he shouted at the walls, wrapping his arms around her tightly. "Keep her here, and neither one of us will help you!"

There was a pause as if the ship was considering.

**~Very well. Step away from her~**

Jack kissed her quickly, and then lowered his arms and took a step back.

She tried to hold on to him. "Jack... No!"

He pushed her away. "Yes, Sam. For the baby. Take care of him."

Tears welled in her eyes as she started to call his name. "J..."

She vanished in the white light.

Jack stared for a moment at the place where she had stood, and then drew a breath and raised his head. "Now what?"

**jsjsjsjs**

"...aack!" Sam cried as she materialized in the control room on Atlantis. Off-balance, she staggered, and would have fallen if Sheppard had not caught her.

"Colonel! What happened?" The question came from Keller as well as Sheppard.

Sam's legs gave way, and she collapsed onto the deck, Keller and Sheppard easing her fall. "They've taken him... I don't know... something about helping them..."

People gathered around in concern.

"Who are they?" Sheppard asked.

"I don't know. I didn't see anybody. There... there was a voice coming from somewhere. It was speaking in Ancient I think—but I could understand it..."

"It must be the same technology that the Stargate has," Rodney spoke up, from somewhere behind her. "You know, the technology that lets us understand alien people when we gate to other planets. It's pretty amazing actually... Someday I'm going to..."

"Rodney!" Sheppard snapped, cutting him off. He turned back to Sam, softening his tone. "What did the voice say, Colonel?"

She spoke quietly. "It knew I'm pregnant. It wanted the baby's ancient gene for some reason. Jack demanded that I be sent back. He promised to help them if they sent me back."

"What kind of help?"

She closed her eyes, remembering Jack's words. "Jack said he'd help wake up the crew if they let me go, but if they kept me there neither one of us would help."

"Wake up the crew?" Sheppard repeated, frowning.

"Cryo-sleep!" Rodney exclaimed. "The crew must be in cryogenic chambers! And they need someone with the Ancient gene to open them..."

"Where is General O'Neill?" Richard Woolsey demanded, having finally pushed his way through the group. "What's this about cryogenics? Where have you been, Colonel Carter?"

Carter and Sheppard ignored him, and Rodney was still spouting off about cryogenics.

Sheppard turned to Morrison. "Is there any change in the ship's readings?"

"No, sir. It's still powered down and holding at 50 kilometers above the city."

"Any sign of weapons?"

"No, sir."

Sheppard got to his feet. "Lieutenant, I want to speak to that ship."

"Yes, sir." She pressed a button. "Go ahead, sir."

"What did you say the ship's name is?"

"Ero, sir."

"This is Atlantis, calling the Ero. This is Colonel John Sheppard. Please respond."

They waited several seconds.

"This is Colonel John Sheppard in Atlantis. Alien ship Ero! Respond!"

Another pause, then a familiar voice. "Hey, Sheppard. Did Carter make it back down there?"

"Yes, sir, General. She's here. She's fine. Are you okay, sir?"

"Yeh. I'm all in one piece."

"What's happening up there, sir? What do they want?"

"It seems they want my help to get back home. The catch is, the ship wants to take me with them..."

"The ship wants...? What, sir?"

"Yeah. It's a talking ship. The whole crew is sleeping."

"We are prepared to launch jumpers, sir."

"Hold off on that, Sheppard. I'll get back to you in a little bit."

The channel went dead. John stared at the communications panel for several beats, and then turned to face Sam. She was on her feet. For a moment they looked at one another.

"Shall I put the jumpers on alert, Colonel?" John asked.

She was prepared for the question. "Yes. Open the bay doors and move jumper 3, 5 and 6 out onto the launch pads. Wait for my order."

"Yes, ma'am." He moved to make the announcement.

"Do you think that's wise, Colonel?" Woolsey was right at her shoulder. "They could see it as an aggressive action."

She faced him. "Mr. Woolsey, an alien ship has kidnapped General O'Neill! If _that's_ not an aggressive action, I don't know what is! We need to be ready for anything." She turned away. "Rodney, I want to know everything you can determine about that ship—and I want it five minutes ago!"

He blinked at her tone, then recovered. "We're on it, Sam. Radek, get over here..."

"Colonel..." Dr. Keller began.

"I'm fine, doctor. It was just a bit of a shock being transported like that."

"Still..." Jennifer persisted.

"I'll report to you in the infirmary as soon as this is over."

Jennifer raised an eyebrow. "You don't mind if I stay around, just to watch, do you?"

Sam gave a small smile. "Not at all, doctor."

Thirty minutes later nothing had changed. The alien ship still hovered above the city, and there had been no communication. Most of the unnecessary people had disappeared from the control room. Sam was seated at one of the tech stations, with a view of the ship on her screen. Scrolling across the bottom was every fact that could be determined or inferred about the ship; Rodney and Radek were still analyzing.

Keller was seated nearby with Teyla, both women watching Carter.

Sheppard was talking with Major Lorne and Ronon. The jumpers were still sitting on the launch pads, their crews aboard and waiting.

Woolsey, finding himself completely ignored, had retreated to a seat some distance away. No one missed him.

Suddenly Lt. Morrison stiffened in her seat. "Colonel! The Ero is powering up!"

Sam leapt to her feet and turned toward the large screen.

Sheppard reached Morrison's side in three strides. "Launch jumpers!"

"It's rising out of the atmosphere!" Rodney exclaimed. "Eighty K. Ninety K..."

Sheppard grabbed the communication mike. "This Sheppard! Jumpers, follow that ship!"

"One hundred twenty K..."

The jumpers streaked skyward.

"Ero! This is Sheppard! General, can you hear me? Respond!"

Sam stared at the screen—the image of the ship was receding fast.

"This is Jumper 3. We have the ship in visual range. Still rising."

"Two hundred K," Rodney yelled. "Rising faster!"

The image on the screen vanished, and Sam drew a sharp breath.

"It disappeared!" Morrison called.

"What happened..."

"It cloaked!" Rodney cried. "Still tracking... Two hundred fifty K! Three hundred!"

"Atlantis, this is Jumper 3, we've lost visual!"

"They're powering their hyperdrive..."

Sam covered her mouth, waiting for the next words.

"They've launched into hyperspace! The ship's gone..."

**xxxxxxxxxx**

**I don't know Ancient, of course. I based it on what little Latin I remember from high school.**


	5. Chapter 5

**So sorry for the long delay in updating this story. I couldn't get this chapter right. I rewrote it 3 times. Hope you like it. **

**JSJSJSJS**

His heart was hammering, and his head was echoing with Sam's words, _'Our son.' _ Overwhelmed, he stared at the spot where she had just disappeared. _We're having a baby! I'm going to be a father again!_ He closed his eyes and saw Charlie's little face... and imagined another face—like Charlie's but with Sam's blue eyes... _A son..._

Finally, he pushed away the images and looked up. "Now what?" Jack asked.

There was a hissing sound behind him, and he turned to find an open doorway.

**~This is the way to the sleep-chambers~**

He walked through the door, and found himself in a small lift. The door slid shut. There was a slight sensation of movement, and the door opened again. He stepped out.

He was at one end of a long corridor, lined on each side with upright compartments, much like the one he had been frozen in at the Ancient Outpost in Antarctica. Each one held a person.

"_Dormata,"_ Jack whispered, remembering.

**~You recognize these chambers~**

"I've seen one once. What do I do?"

A voice interrupted him. "This is Atlantis, calling the Ero. This is Colonel John Sheppard. Please respond."

"Let me answer him!" Jack demanded.

"This is Colonel John Sheppard in Atlantis. Alien ship Ero! Respond!"

**~Very well~**

"Hey, Sheppard. Did Carter make it back down there?" Jack asked.

"Yes, sir..."

After hearing that Sam was okay, Jack breathed easier. He spoke briefly with Sheppard, until the ship interrupted.

**~That is enough~**

"We are prepared to launch jumpers, sir," Sheppard was saying.

"Hold off on that," Jack replied. "I'll get back to you in a little bit." He knew that the link had been terminated abruptly. "That was really rude!" he snapped at the air.

**~I do not understand. Further communication was unnecessary~**

Jack bit back a snide reply. "Right! Fine—what do I do now?"

**~The chamber of the **_**Praefecta**_** is at the far end of the corridor, as are the controls~**

"Why can't you open them?" Jack asked.

**~The controls require one with the life-sign~**

"So you need a person to release the crew. Seem like poor planning for the ship to be out here without anybody to do that."

**~There was someone on watch. He became ill and died suddenly~**

"Oh. I see. That's too bad."

**~It is inconvenient~**

Jack's brows rose. _Well, after all, this was a machine._ "So I should head down to the other end of the hallway?"

**~Yes~**

He walked along slowly, studying the chambers as he passed. The people in them all looked young and healthy, aside from the fact that the faces were very pale, almost white. Most were men, but there were several women. They all wore the same uniform—a gray-blue jump-suit type garment, with dark blue trim at the collar, waist and wrists. There were gold or silver pins on the collars—Jack recognized some of the Stargate symbols.

He reached the end of the corridor. He'd counted thirty-eight cryo-chambers. On the end wall was a console with a number of lights blinking.

**~This is the Praefecta's compartment~**

The chamber on Jack's right lighted up. The woman inside was tall and athletic-looking, with dark hair and a young face.

"Okay. What next?"

**~Press your right hand to the scanner in the center of the console. The small panels to the left of each compartment will light up. You will only need to press the one for the chamber you wish to open in order to begin the process~**

Jack looked at the console, and quickly located the scanner. He placed his hand on the screen. There was a slight humming and the scanner began to give off a bluish light. He glanced at the Captain's chamber. After a few moments a yellow light came on beside the recess. It brightened gradually. Glancing down the hall, he saw the other lights coming on also.

"So if I touch that light, she'll wake up. How long will it take?"

**~It requires four point one minutes to complete the process~**

"Is she gonna shoot me when she doesn't recognize me?" Jack asked.

**~She does not have a weapon~**

"Good to know. Assuming you're telling the truth."

**~I do not understand~**

"Never mind. Well, here goes nothin'." He touched the panel, pressing it inward.

The color darkened to amber, and he heard humming again, deeper this time than in the console. The amber light spread through the compartment, and began to pulsate slightly, like a slow heartbeat. After about a minute had passed, the light began to recede very slowly toward the back of the chamber. The captain's face emerged, as if rising gently out of still water, and a few moments later she drew a shallow breath. The pulse-rate increased, and the woman's skin changed gradually from pale white to a more natural tone—indeed, her cheeks flushed slightly. The light surface had receded three quarters of the way when she drew in a deep breath and let it out in a soft sigh. She opened her eyes; they were a dark sable brown, almost matching the tint of her hair.

_To Praefecta Lara Donea it seemed as if only a moment had passed since she stepped into the dormatam, the last of the crew to submit to the longsleep—the last except for Casora, of course, who had been assigned to the first watch. If the scheduled amount of time had passed, then it should be Erton who was releasing her. As yet, she could not see anything except the blurred lights; it would be a few moments before she regained all of her strength and alertness. The reanimation process needed to run its full course. She pulled in another deep breath. The life-shield had not released her arms and lower body as yet, and she waited patiently as she gradually grew stronger. She blinked as her vision cleared, and looked around, but the man she saw standing before her was no one she had ever seen before!_

As the woman's eyes fell on Jack she jerked in surprise as a look of apprehension crossed her face.

"Easy there, Captain," he said raising his hands. "I'm not here to do any harm."

She made as if to speak, but no sound came.

"It's okay," Jack assured her. "I'll just wait until you're ready, and then I'll explain." He leaned back casually against the console, making sure his hands stayed in sight.

It was another three minutes before she was able to exit the chamber, and when she did, she did not speak to Jack immediately, but merely studied him for perhaps a minute. Finally she cleared her throat. "I am Lara Donea, Praefecta of this ship. Who are you?"

"Nice to meet you, Praefecta. I'm General Jack O'Neill. I'm from the planet Earth—Terra."

"How did you come here?"

"Your ship transported me up here, so that I could release you and your crew from the dormata. I'd really appreciate it if you'd send me back down to Atlantis now that you're awake."

"Where is Erton?"

Jack shook his head. "You'll have to ask your ship that question."

With her eyes still on Jack, she spoke to the air. "Computer. Explain. Where is Erton?"

**~Erton is still in his dormatam, Praefecta. The last watch was Korvon's, but he died unexpectedly six cycles ago. He did not have time to release anyone. It was necessary to find someone with the life-sign, who could open the dormata. O'Neill possesses the strongest life-sign of the people in the city below~**

"I see," she said. "Where are we?"

**~This galaxy is called Pegasus~**

"Show me."

A huge-scale 3 dimensional star map appeared in the air above them. One galaxy was highlighted in blue. The visual drew away farther and farther until the blue was a mere dot. There were many more galaxies and clusters floating above their heads. Finally another galaxy was highlighted in green.

**~This is the Pegasus galaxy~**

"Is this your galaxy?" she asked Jack.

"No. I'm visiting here. I come from the Milky Way Galaxy."

The map shifted again and a third group of stars was highlighted, this time in purple.

**~This is the galaxy you call Milky Way~**

"Thanks," Jack said waving his hand.

She turned to look at him. "My ancestors, the Anquietas, once lived in your galaxy. They called it Avalon. And Terra was one of the planets they colonized."

"Yes," Jack said. "I'm one of the people of Earth who are descended from them. Your ship recognized my DNA. Now if you could just send me back..."

"Are there many of you left?"

"You mean with the DNA? Quite a few. I don't know the exact number. No one was aware of it on Earth until we began going through the Stargate."

"Stargate?"

"Astria Porta," Jack clarified. "Your ancestors built them and placed them all over our galaxy—and evidently all over several other galaxies as well."

She nodded. "The Astria Porta—Stargates, as you call them, are mentioned in our historical writings. Our ancestors built them. However, we do not have them in our galaxy."

"Really! Would you like to see one? All you have to do is come down to Atlantis with me. When you send me back," he added hopefully.

"Atlantis?" she repeated.

"That's the city on the planet below. It was built by the Anquietas a gazillion years ago. It's a city-ship. They built it on Earth, and then flew it here. You sure you wouldn't like to go down for a visit?" he added hopefully.

She looked at him thoughtfully. "It is tempting, General Jack O'Neill. We have never seen the Stargates. We explore in ships such as these, using the _dormata_ for long journeys."

"Why don't you have Stargates?" he asked. "And why didn't your people ascend like the rest of the Anquietas? We thought all of the Ancients had ascended."

"Many millennia ago a group of people broke away from the majority of the people you call Ancients, who were focusing their attention on learning to ascend. This group were my ancestors. They did not believe it was our destiny to leave our corporeal existence behind. Their belief was that we had much to contribute to the good of the Humanities, and we could only do that as human beings. The majority Council banned my ancestors from their company, and sent them away. They did not allow them to take the advanced technologies which had been developed. One of those was the Stargate. My ancestors found a home in a different galaxy." She indicated the blue-highlighted group of stars in the star map above them and the computer brought the group closer and enlarged it. "My people have lived and flourished in this galaxy, which we call The Wheel of Life. We have made many advancements and given our knowledge freely to the people we came in contact with. Some time ago our leaders began to feel that it is time we moved outward from our home, and share with—and perhaps learn from—Humanities in other parts of the universe. These ships were built to take us out into the surrounding galaxies."

"Then you really must come and meet my people," Jack said. "We're your long-lost relatives—sort of."

"Unfortunately, we do not have the freedom to change our itinerary." She turned slightly and spoke to the air. "Computer, is the ship on schedule?"

**~No, Praefecta~**

"Explain."

**~After Korvon died, I altered course to search for inhabited planets. For the past six cycles I have been searching for humans with the life-sign. Those in the city below are the first I have found~**

"How far are we from our destination?"

**~One deca-cycle, Praefecta~ **

"Ah. Not as bad as I had feared. Calculate the course and speed to make up the time we have lost." She turned back to Jack. "I am afraid we must continue on our journey. You are welcome to accompany us."

"No, thanks. I have a fiancée down there, and a kid on the way. I don't want to miss it."

"A kid?"

"Sorry. A child. A son."

"Ahh. That is excellent."

"I think so." He grinned.

"Before we go, we would like to share some of our knowledge with your people," the Praefecta offered.

"That's generous of you," Jack said, surprised. "How would you accomplish that?"

She crossed to the control console and quickly input several commands. The humming resumed for a few moments, and then a data crystal was ejected from a slot on the console. Lara Donea took it and offered it to Jack. "I believe this will interface successfully with the technology in the city below."

Jack took the crystal. "Thank you. What's on it?"

"Some of the technologies which we have found most beneficial for our people. They deal with medicine, engineering, chemistry and many other sciences. You may find them useful."

"Thank you," Jack said again.

**~Praefecta, course and speed plotted and laid in~**

"Very well. Prepare to execute." She looked at Jack again. "Thank you for awakening us. It is gratifying to know that our distant kin still survive in your galaxy. Perhaps we will visit some day. Computer, transport General Jack O'Neill to the city below."

"Thank you!" Jack breathed.

And then he was engulfed in a bright light.

**sjsjsjsj**

He was lying on a hard metal floor again. _Damn. For such an advanced race, it seemed like their transporters could use some improvement! _

This time his hip and shoulder were definitely the worse for wear. He sat up and looked around. Where the heck was this? Just a huge empty space. A hanger deck? Why couldn't they have returned him to the control room? He got awkwardly to his feet and limped toward the nearest wall. Somewhere around here there had to be an intercom...

**jsjsjsjs**

Sam was on her feet, eyes glued to the large screen.

"The ship's gone into hyperdrive!"

"This is Jumper 3—we have lost visual..."

Sam closed her eyes and breathed deeply. _Gone..._

Keller saw the color drain from Carter's face. She was beside her in an instant. "Colonel. Sit down."

With Jennifer on one side and Teyla on the other, Sam sank back into her chair. "I'm all right," she told the doctor. "Rodney! Can we track that ship?"

"Doing my best, Sam! Hang on..." Rodney replied. "Radek—what have you got?"

Six seconds of dead silence.

"We have a bearing on the ship's course," Radek called.

"Send it to the jumpers," Sheppard ordered. "Jumper 3, can you follow the alien ship?"

"It's headed into intergalactic space!"

"Atlantis, this is Jumper 3. We can follow, but they have a huge start on us."

"Hold on Jumper 3. Radek, send those numbers up..."

"Colonel Sheppard! The alien ship sent down a transporter beam just before it went into hyperspace!" Lt. Morrison's announcement caught everyone's attention.

"Was it General O'Neill?" John demanded.

"Can't tell..."

A different voice interrupted. "Hey! Is anybody on this channel?"

"Jack!" Sam cried. "Is that you?"

"It's me. Havin' a hell of a time... something wrong with..." There was a static burst and Jack's voice faded away.

"Where is he?" Sheppard demanded.

"Tracking the destination of the beam..." Lt. Morrison called.

They waited with bated breath.

"Got him!" Morrison cried. "He's in Section 12, level D."

"Below sea level?" John asked.

"Yes, sir."

John turned toward Carter. "That's about as far from here as he can get."

She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. "But he's in the city."

"Yes."

Her smile was shaky with relief. "Okay, John. Go find him."

**sjsjsjsj**

It took two hours for the search team to reach the bay where Jack had been deposited by the alien ship. The beaming stations in that section of the city—a section which had not been surveyed—were non-functional, so the team had to make its way through corridors and down stairwells. They found Jack sitting against the bay wall below the communications console.

"You okay, sir?" Sheppard asked.

Jack looked up at his rescuer. "Just taking a rest, Colonel." He allowed the younger man to help him to his feet. "I think their beam dropped me from several feet above the deck. Got a few bruises."

"We'll get you back and let Dr. Keller take a look at you, sir."

"Is Carter okay?"

"She's fine, sir. Very relieved that you're back. We thought the ship had taken you with them."

"I thought they were going to for a second there," Jack admitted. He grunted as he straightened up.

"Can you walk, sir?"

"I'll manage. Just show me the way."

**sjsjsjsj **

**There'll be just one more chapter after this.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you for reading, and for all the great reviews you have left for this story! I'm so glad you've found it enjoyable. My apologies, but I've lost track of which reviews I have or have not responded to. If any of you did not receive a thank you please be assured that I read every one and am grateful to all of you. **

**jsjsjsjs**

The infirmary in Atlantis was depressingly like the one at Stargate Command. Except for the windows, of course—it was nice to see daylight, Jack admitted. And the colors, pastel blues and greens—no gray concrete in sight! But the beds were no more comfortable, and everywhere he looked there was medical "stuff" sitting around. The sounds were the same too, beeps and whirrs, and the quiet click of the clock on the wall. Even Dr. Keller's heels tapping on the tile floor sounded like Dr. Lam's.

And it was just as boring! Keller was keeping him—and making him stay off his feet—until the next day because the bruising in his hip was bad, and she wanted to allow the swelling to go down some. To help that along, she had him on a rotation of cold packs on his hip and thigh, which of course mad him even more uncomfortable! She planned do another scan of the hip the next morning just to make sure there was no fracture. By the time Jack and his rescuers had made it back to the control center, he was limping pretty badly, and the lovely young doctor was certainly not one to overlook a symptom as obvious as that!

At least Sam had been here earlier—Keller had insisted that she come in to be checked over. Her exam had taken only a short time, after which Sam had come to sit with Jack for a while. Soon, however, her duties had called her back to the control room. She had promised to return as soon as possible.

He occupied himself by thinking of the news she had told him. _They were going to have a baby! He was going to have another son. _ It was wonderful and frightening at the same time. The worst part was Jack's age. He would be nearly fifty-eight by the time the baby was born. That meant he might not see his son graduate from high school, and almost certainly not from college...

Determinedly, he pushed that attitude away. He would do everything he possibly could to stay healthy so he could live long enough to see his son grow up. Six years ago, when the Asgaard removed the Ancient knowledge from his brain for the second time, Thor told him that as a side effect of being treated in the medical pods, Jack's body had been restored to optimum health. The only real difference he'd noticed was that his knees no longer hurt. He did not look any different, but subsequent medical checks had confirmed that he had the constitution of a man twenty years younger. Truthfully, he hadn't given any of it much thought until now, and he hadn't made any effort to maintain the advantage the Asgaard had given him.

He decided that he'd ask Dr. Lam to do a complete physical when he got back to the SGC, and give him her opinion of his state of health. And he also promised himself he would make the effort to eat right and get plenty of exercise. After all, now he had the best reasons in the world to want to stay in good shape—Sam was going to marry him, and they were going to have a baby!

**sjsjsjsj**

The hip was not fractured, thank goodness! Dr. Keller released Jack from the infirmary at noon the next day, giving him a cane, and strongly suggesting that he use it until the bruising healed. He squashed the urge to ignore her advice, and surprised everyone, especially Sam, by agreeing to take it easy and do as the doctor said.

In fact, his willingness to follow doctor's orders had her worried. When he consented to leave the interviews for the rest of that day entirely in Woolsey's hands, Sam could not contain her concern. She followed him to the quarters that had been assigned to him, and closed the door behind them.

He turned to her with a smile, but she spoke before he had a chance to say anything.

"Jack, what's wrong?" she demanded.

"You heard Keller. I need to go easy on the leg for a while, but everything else is fine."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I heard her. But there could be something that you ordered her not to tell me. Did you—order her not to tell me something?"

"No." He moved to the bed and sat down, wincing as his bruised hip settled onto the mattress.

"Jack!"

"What? No, there's nothing except what you heard. I'm fine! At least I'll be fine once the bruising goes away."

"I can tell it hurts you..."

"Yeah. It's gonna hurt for a while. She said I didn't bruise the bone, but it's pretty deep in the muscle."

"Maybe you should be completely off your feet? Like using a wheelchair?" she ventured carefully.

He bit down on the retort that sprang to his lips. Instead he took a breath and replied mildly, "Keller would have suggested that if she thought it was necessary. Somehow I don't think the good doctor is shy about expressing her opinion." His eyes got a little sad and he went on softly. "She kind of reminds me of Janet."

"Yeah," she agreed quietly. "She does."

He beckoned to her and patted the mattress beside him. "C'mere."

She crossed over and sat next to him, and he put his arm around her. He turned his head and kissed her, bringing his other hand up to caress her cheek. "I'm fine," he whispered against her lips. "Stop worrying. I'm gonna do what the doctor says, and my leg will be great in a couple of weeks."

She stares at him, unconvinced. "You're sure you didn't hit your head?"

"My head? No."

"You complained of a headache..."

He frowned. "I could hear the ship's message in my mind. That's what caused the headache. It went away once I was on the ship."

"That doesn't make any sense," she objected. "How could the ship have communicated with you directly like that?"

"I have not idea. Must have something to do with that gene." He squeezed her a little tighter. "You know—the same gene our son has."

She had to smile. "Yeah."

"We haven't had a chance to talk about him yet. About the baby."

She looked up into his eyes. "No. I guess we haven't."

"How long have you known?"

"About three weeks," she admitted. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you right away. I wanted so much to do it in person. I guess that was selfish of me ..."

"It's okay."

"I was going to ask for leave to come home, to tell you—but then I realized that if I went back to Earth, and Dr. Lam or General Landry found out I was pregnant, I wouldn't be able to come back through the gate. I was trying to decide how to tell you on one of our flash messages. And then you showed up here."

"I did."

"Can we name him Jonathan?"

"What!" Jack pulled back and stared at her. "Absolutely not! Why do you think I call myself Jack? I won't inflict that name on another kid!" But he was grinning at her all the time. "I'm sure we can come up with a better name in the next...what?...six months or so?" He noticed the faint disappointment in her eyes. "Well, maybe we could use it as his middle name, then he can decide what he wants to be called." He leaned down and kissed her again, caressing her mouth gently with his lips and teeth and tongue, until she groaned and put her hand on the back of his head to pull him closer. He slid a hand into the front of her jumpsuit and searched for the hem of her tee shirt...

Abruptly she broke away. "No... not right now. I have to go back to work..." Her face was flushed and her eyes slightly unfocused. She pushed herself to her feet and stepped out of reach. "Later..."

Jack smirked and watched as she got control of her breathing. "Tonight," he promised. "When's your shift over?"

"Uh... seventeen hundred. But Woolsey wants a meeting at 17.30."

"Well, he's spending the afternoon with McKay. I suppose we should see what he thinks after that."

"You don't have to..."

"I can sit in a meeting, Sam. No strain on the hip. Besides, I'd love to see what's left of Dickie after five hours with Rodney."

Sam giggled. "We'll meet with him in my office at 1730, then." She kissed him quickly on the lips. "You lie down and get some rest."

"Crap. I've been resting since last night." His expression brightened as he got an idea. "Are there any fish is this ocean? Anybody here got fishing gear?"

**jsjsjsjs**

It turned out that Radek Zelenka was an avid fisherman, and was happy to lend General O'Neill the equipment he needed. Radek even showed Jack his favorite, out-of-the-way spot on one of the lower pylons, where he kept a camp chair, and a cooler for the drinks he brought with him. He brought Jack several bottles of soda from the cafeteria, and some ice packs to keep them cold.

Jack spent a quiet and lazy afternoon fishing in Atlantis' waters. There were indeed fish-like critters there—he threw back a few in the course of the day. Radek admitted that he's never kept any of the sea creatures he caught, and had no idea if they were edible or not. Jack said that wasn't a problem for him, as the point was the act of fishing—not the catch. The two men grinned at each other in complete understanding.

Jack dozed and drank soda and relaxed more completely than he had in a long time.

**sjsjsjsj**

Sam came looking for him when her shift ended—Zelenka had told her where he was. Jack was sleeping when she found him, his head leaning against the back of the chair and the fishing pole held loosely in his hands. She watched him for a few minutes, reluctant to disturb his rest, until finally he cleared his throat and opened his eyes.

"Thought that might be you," he said.

"I thought you were sleeping."

"I guess I was. But you know how I get when anybody's watching me." He straightened up in the chair. "Is it time to go meet Woolsey?"

"Twenty more minutes."

"Come and sit with me, then," he invited.

She smiled and came closer, then folded her legs and sat on the deck in front of his chair, leaning back against his knees. "Is that okay?"

"That's fine," he said, running a hand lightly over her hair.

They were quiet for several minutes. And finally she asked, "Did you catch anything?"

"A few. I threw them back. Zelenka says he doesn't keep them either."

"You look like you enjoyed yourself." She twists around to look up at him. She had noticed how relaxed he seemed.

"Yes, I did. It was a good way to spend the afternoon."

There was another comfortable silence.

"Ten minutes until Woolsey will be in my office," Sam said at last.

"Okay. Guess it's time to go."

She helped him put away Zelenka's fishing gear, and the two of them headed for the lift.

**jsjsjsjs**

The meeting with Woolsey went better than either Sam or Jack had expected.

"I cannot recommend Dr. McKay for the job of administrator of Atlantis," Woolsey commented immediately. "What do you think, General?"

"I agree with you," Jack said. He glanced at Sam. "How do you feel about it, Carter?"

"I also agree. However, you don't want to lose Rodney if you can help it—he's much too good a scientist." She looked from Jack to Woolsey. "I have a couple of other thoughts, if you want to hear them."

"Go ahead, Colonel Carter," Woolsey said.

"Well, it occurred to me that both of the other candidates are scientists, and appointing either could cause conflict with Rodney. They would probably want to take over the scientific aspect of the mission here. McKay isn't one to give ground easily when it comes to his specialty. Atlantis might lose him over it. I worked with Mark Danson for fourteen months, and he's brilliant, but he likes to be in control. Being my 2IC was hard for him."

Jack was listening carefully to what she was saying. "You think he and Rodney wouldn't work together well?"

She shrugged. "I can see there might be a struggle before they could work it out. The fact that I outranked Danson was a helpful factor for us. But he'll see Rodney as just a civilian."

"You seem to handle McKay pretty well," Woolsey commented.

"I have John, after all."

"Do you think Sheppard will leave if he doesn't get the appointment?" Jack asked.

Woolsey gave him a surprised glance.

"John is a Lt. Colonel, just like Danson," Sam said. "If he stays, there could be a conflict there, too."

"Danson would probably be promoted to full bird if he gets the job."

"Yes. That makes sense," she conceded. "The permanent administrator needs to be the highest ranking officer, if he's military."

Jack was thoughtful. "So, if Danson is appointed, there's at least a chance that the Atlantis Expedition could lose both Sheppard and McKay."

"Possibly."

"That could be very bad," Woolsey said. "Losing both of them could be a serious setback for Atlantis." He looked thoughtful. "What about Dr. Michaels?"

"Again, a brilliant scientist," Sam said. "I only worked under her for a few months at Area 51, but she is fantastic at her job. Being head of R&amp;D there gives her the advantage of having administrative experience as well. She might do better with Rodney than Danson would. She is a civilian, after all. But she's equally headstrong, and has the Atlantic Outpost experience under her belt."

"Did you have any conflicts with her?"

"No. But I wasn't challenging her authority, or her science either."

"So what would you do if this were your decision?" Jack asked after a minute's thought.

"Oh, no," Sam objected. "Don't put me in that position. It's not my decision. This one's all yours."

"Actually, it's not mine. It's the IOA's." Jack glanced at Woolsey.

"They'll listen to your recommendation, though," she said.

Jack drew a long breath and let it out slowly. "Okay, then give us _your_ recommendation."

"Yes, Colonel," Woolsey put in. "I'm very interested in what you have to say, also."

She glanced between the two men. "All right. But it's just my opinion. Maybe the IOA should consider dividing the responsibilities, in some way. Giving John authority over all the military operations, and expanding Rodney's authority on the scientific side, but having them share she administrative duties. These two men have the most experience here, and they work well together. John is one of the few people that Rodney respects completely—or maybe he's just afraid of him," she added with a smirk. "That would be my recommendation."

Woolsey looked thoughtful. "Sheppard does have all the right experience. And except for yourself, Colonel Carter, Dr. McKay is the most qualified scientist." He shot a hopeful look at Sam.

"I'm not going to reconsider," she told him. "I already have my request in for Earth-side assignment, as soon as this is decided."

"I didn't really think so," he nodded. "I will definitely pass on your thoughts to the Advisory Board."

"Are you done with McKay's interview, then?" Jack asked.

"Yes. I think this afternoon covered everything I need to know. Unless you have questions, General."

"No. I'm willing to go with what you recommend."

Woolsey seemed faintly surprised. "Thank you, General O'Neill." He turned to Sam. "When can I return to Stargate Command, Colonel?"

"I believe we have you in the schedule for tomorrow at 1300. That'll be 1700 back at the SGC. That's when we dial in to give our weekly report."

For a moment she thought he was going to object to the delay, but then he seemed to reconsider. "That'll be fine, Colonel. I haven't had a morning off in a long time." He smiled. "I think I'll sleep in tomorrow. Good night, Colonel. General." He picked up his briefcase and left the office.

Sam turned toward Jack, her mouth open. "Did you see that? He actually smiled!"

"Must've been gas," he quipped, drawing a laugh from Sam.

**sjsjsjsj**

They decided to eat dinner in the cafeteria, and headed straight that way from Sam's office. Sam eased back her usual brisk pace to match his slower one. As a result, their progress was quite leisurely.

"Did Keller give you any pain meds?" Sam asked as they sat down at a table, having noticed the wince he tried to control with each step.

"Yep. But I left 'em in my quarters. I knew I'd be sitting all afternoon."

"I'll get them for you." She started to rise.

He reached over and caught her wrist. "No. I'm fine. I'll take one later, if it still hurts."

She stared down at his hand grasping her arm, and then looked around warily. He caught the look and released her, grinning. "Do you seriously think they haven't figured us out?" he asked softly.

"Oh, I'm sure some of them have. Like Dr. Keller. I guess it's just habit to be careful."

"Yeah," he admitted and then the grin turned into a warm, sweet smile so full of promise and love that it just about took her breath away. "But once you get home..."

~FINI, FOR NOW~

**JSJSJSJS**

**Please forgive me for taking a break here. As you've probably guessed, this is not the end of this J/S series (I mean, how could it be, with a wedding coming up and the baby...), and so my saga of Jack and Sam will continue with another story a little later on. First, however, I need to finish a couple of others that are still around. Namely; ****There'll be Time Enough for Sadness When You Leave Me****, ****Lost**** and ****Maverick Jack: the Assassin****. After that, hopefully I'll have the good sense to limit myself to having only one or two WIPs going at a time!**

**And yes, I know that the crystal the captain gave Jack wasn't mentioned. Don't worry. It will come up in a later story.**


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